Seeing as it was cold and winter and almost Christmas what better way to spend a day than doing some gymnastics around the centre of Rugby. I hasten to say that it was not me doing the gymnastics!
Shania was my willing subject and has been for many years a gymnast and is also an instructor, so there was no worries that she would not be able to provide some amazing images.
As you can see we created some amazing images….surprisingly though not one of the shoppers complained – most simply smiled or commented how amazing she was. I think the face of the small child walking past sums it all up !!
At the weekend I was given access to a now silenced factory..where once it was alive with the sounds of people working and the steady throb of machines it was now eerily quiet…with perhaps only the occasional plop of dropping water echoing eerily in the distance.
For this adventure we have the lovely Amy, who braved the cold to model. All images are shot using the Sony A7rii, an 85mm lens and occasionally lighting by Rotolight (Neo I and II).
See look sometimes I do shoot in colour, although more and more these days it is monochrome that colours my life! (like what I did their?)
Probably a pixie..am fairly sure a pixie…
Sometimes all you need is a pretty girl and a dingy location to create beautiful images
It has not been a great secret that for the past few months I have been toying with changing allegiance from Canon to Sony. The key factor being the small form factor of mirror less cameras as well as the much lighter weight of the kit.
Sony has been extremely open about its focussing technology and this has allowed a number of third parties to make adaptors so you can use different lenses on their bodies rather than forcing you to buy 100% into the system,
I took advantage of the change to use a Sony a7rii matched to a Sigma MC11 to see how it would work with my current crop of Canon L lenses. One huge advantage of the Sony system is that the image stabilisation is built into the body rather than adding extra weight and cost to the lens.
The Images below were all shot using the Canon 70-200 L IS (version 2) and in some images there is a tiny amount of vignetting in the corner . I am not sure whether this is caused by the adaptor, the lens hood or a mixture of both or something totally different but it is only a very tiny amount visible in the corners and can easily be cropped out. Especially considering you have 42 megapixels to start with.
Canon has promised to bring out a mirror less camera sometime in 2018 but that is almost 3 years after Sony , at the moment the Sony A9 which is less than the 1Dx to purchase and offers a number of focusing advantages and resolution advantages over the 1Dx.
I dont imagine that the Canon will come in at around the same price point as the Sony and when it is released the A7 will be due for a upgrade and you can only imagine what the version 3 will offer? perhaps a bigger buffer and better battery life? Again though third party batteries for the Sony are around £10 each!
We are just getting out of the the depths of winter now and spring clothes are starting to hit the high street….however the retailers are currently shopping for the Autumn Winter range!
Moda Exhibitions hosts the trade fair for fashion retailers and February sees the Autumn Winter Fashion showcase, here retailers can choose from the huge range of designers showcasing their clothing and accessory ranges.
This year seems to be bucking the trend of autumn clothing following autumnal colours with a swathe of bright colours and bold designs to warm up any chilly day.
LEO GUY showcased their knitwear, bringing a dash of french fashion to deliciously luxurious knitwear
LEO GUY luxurious french knitwear
Italian brand Elisa Cavaletti once again didn’t fail to impress with their range of beautifully tailored clothing, I was particularly taken by this piece which would be at home both on the high street and when dressing to impress.
Italian style and grace
James Lakeland (rapidly becoming one of my favourite designers) opening collection included this bold gradient coat, echoing the interest in geometric shapes and bold designs we are seeing.
bold gradient design coat
Amongst other autumn fashion we are likely to be seeing the use of fur, both real and faux. Faux fur is today almost indistinguishable from the real thing, which is a great stride forwards in the ethical treatment of animals.
Here we see a great design by James Lakeland where he has blended traditional autumnal themes with bold lines and trimmed it with a luxurious fur trim. This is a design which cannot help but get you noticed.
I have recently become involved with a local studio called Digimon based in coventry. Whilst still a fledgeling photographic studio, they have great experience with video and offer a range of video facilities including editing and green screen.
It has been my pleasure to assist them with photographer / model experience days where models and photographers get the chance to network, plan and create new images. It is different from the usual group shoot days as it is restricted in numbers allowing everyone to get the images they want.
Recently I spent some time in London covering some of the off schedule shows at London Fashion Week 2013.
I took along on the last day one of my regular models to do some street images I had been wanting to capture for a while. I love the area around brick lane due to it not only being the heart of london fashion but also because of the diversity of the surroundings.
Indeed while we were there we saw two other shoots taking place!
Obviously shooting in Urban areas comes with its own unique problems. There were the builders who drove past us 3 times to ask for directions….the abandoned house which obviously wasn’t when the owner opened the door or the 20 french school kids who wanted to watch our shoot taking place!
All images taken by Paul Hastie, Vision of You, a Coventry based photographer.
Our lovely model for the day was Jodi.
Brick Lane served as our location for these shots, a complete contrast to the mean streets of Coventry and I feel they appear Italian for some reason? What do you think?
The intention had been to shoot some Winter Fashions in January 2013. I had hoped to take advantage of the crisp winter mornings with perhaps a bit of mist gently rolling in the distance.
Unfortunately what we were presented with was mud, glorious mud, lots of it. Standing puddles and soggy leaves…not quite as envisaged but as professionals we worked round it….
Stacy is a very versatile local model with a good range of looks as well as being very professional and happy to take any challenge thrown at her.
This year was I think my 7th or 8th year of shooting the event and is pretty much one of the highlights of my catwalk show year. This year was somewhat different from previous years as I knew a lot of the models and dancers in the sequences. This whilst giving me an extra link to the show bought along it’s own problems. Not only was I shooting for my news agency and getting overall shots that they could sell for me but I also wanted to get images that the people in the show that I knew could use for there portfolio. If you saw the show you will realise how fast paced it is and how they take care to ensure that the action encompasses all of the stage. Quite often my subjects were on different sides and also shooting with two camera’s wide and telephoto led to a number of fast camera changes and awesome panning skills. Actually that part is a lie, I shot the show over about 15 performances to make sure I covered everything my client and I required.
I also managed to sneak a few words with some of the models between shows, and it was nice to receive thanks from them that I was capturing them in a way they could use. I think this connection came out in the images, of which I can only show a few as the rest have been released to clients.
Recently I was fortunate enough to shoot with the very lovely Lauren Ritchie who is a local singer and upcoming new model.
I have to give an incredible amount of thanks to Witley Court for allowing us to shoot there, on a bank holiday and unannounced. Stunning location and definitely worth a day there to look round, we spent a few hours there and noticed quite a few areas we had missed as we left.
Lauren did her own make up and styling for the shoot and whilst she could be classed as an inexperienced model this certainly didn’t show at the shoot. She was perfectly made up and took direction incredibly well. Although the venue was pretty busy, she took this in her stride and was the perfect professional.
